SO. I originally got this brace directly from my podiatrist for my severe achilles tendonitis. By that point I had tried almost every style of brace I could get my hands on for various styles, even some from the podiatrist directly. If a brace did not fit well or was too difficult to put on, they were no good. I have mental illnesses and finding the energy and motivation to put something on every day and wear it all day was hard for me to do; if you dont like it, you won't use it basically. It was a chore to put on for all of my braces until this brace came into my life. Most of the same style of braces are fully laced so you would have to loosen the laces drastically to get your foot in, and sometimes you would have to re-lace the top half to wear it. This can get really old really fast if you have to wear it daily. The Speed Pro Brace on the other hand, is super easy to use. There are a few steps, but they are so quick to to do, probably around 10 seconds to put on, if that. Instead of re-lacing every time you put it on, the laces are split into two velcro tabs so it is a pull and attach to the side velcro strips. Then the figure 8 straps to the side velcro, and then the final top ankle wrap to stabilize even further. It is super easy and quick, and I love it! Things that could be changed in general: -the plastic D rings that the lacing laces through could be better. There have been times that shoes or the brace shifted and has made the D rings hit a pressure point on my foot - not fun, but after unwrapping it and after adjusting it you can move on with your day. I do not know if a sturdy and less hard material can be used instead, or if lowering it's profile will help. Now, you are probably wondering why I am reviewing on amazon if I got my brace through my podiatrist...WELL I wore my initial one out. I cannot even remember how long I have used it, but I wear it 40 hours a week minimum and it has been a few months 3-5 months I think. I work an office job so more walking, standing, etc. Where the D rings attach for the lacing, there is a stability product that I think is plastic strip because the sides paralleled to the leg portion of my ankle has removable plastic stability strips, almost like a book mark. The lacing stability has warped from flat to a squiggle. Since I wear the brace so long and so often, I am not surprised. So I ordered one directly from amazon instead of going through my podiatrist. It arrived this morning and it looks and works exactly the same as my first one. BUT there is one difference. The top set of laces seem to be shorter than my first version. I am not sure if that was an updated feature on my original brace, or the one I got second. it still will function the same and the laces may stretch. not sure I got a flawed product or not, but I made sure I got the correct sized brace, so who knows. This is my favorite ankle brace compared to all of the others I have tried in my 29 years of life. I played sports, went backpacking, and haven't had the best care in my younger years in regards to physical injuries. I am getting a custom brace done through my podiatrist, but my current one wouldn't last the 2-3 weeks more while that is getting processed and shipped, yesterday I held a not so funeral for the first one, as I purchased the second one with express shipping. I legit told my podiatrist I want something like the speed pro, but with more longevity and customized to my foot. I will sing my praises about this brace any time someone asks about braces for their ankles. I also recommend crocs....I am part of the population that think crocs look ugly, but the combo of the brace, crocs, and at home ankle exercises got me down to a 2-3 level pain on the daily instead of a 9. Great improvement! If not a croc fan, get loose tennis shoes, tighter shoes make getting your foot and brace into it a little difficult.
